God’s Not Done (But It’s a Dry Season)
#Emerge Week Three
Pastor Kris Freeman
Revolution Church
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-24 (NLT)
8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
Elijah was a prophet of the Lord, and not always involved in POSITIVE outcomes.
Elijah had to:
- Prophesy to wicked kings and people
- Speak droughts and famines
- Relied upon the Lord for safety and provision
He was a prophet much the style of JOHN THE BAPTIST in the New Testament.
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
How ironic God would ask a widow who was suffering during a DRY SEASON to provide food and drink for the Lord’s servant.
- Have you ever been asked to GIVE when you were broke?
- Have you ever been asked to SERVE when you are tired?
- Have you ever been asked to PRAY when you were speechless?
- Have you ever been asked to TRUST when all hope seemed lost?
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
17 Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
God satisfies the drought season, but then the woman’s son gets sick, and she loses FAITH.
When the answer to prayer doesn’t go your way, how do you respond?
- Blame God?
- Turn your back on people?
- Quit and give up?
- Harbor resentment?
In the hardest seasons of your life is when you ultimately have to trust God the MOST!
19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! 23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”
26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NLT)
2. There is nothing IMPATIENT for God. But it sure is hard to wait!
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. (2 Peter 3:9 NLT)
3. There is nothing IMPERFECT about God’s will. But it sure seems tough to understand it.
33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! 34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? 35 And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? 36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
Maybe you’re here. It’s dry. You’re lost. Your faith is wavering. Hope seems gone. The impossible is at your doorstep.
And there is God - ready to emerge with the impossible.
#Emerge #RevWhiteHouse
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